Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1887-03-05
MAKING GARDEN.
A Young Mans Experience in Agriculture
in a Climate of no Stability
of Character.
..CabrioI-t' Tries Hi. Hand at Raising
Vegetables. with no Effect bur EN-
citing the Elements T."
SNOW storm.

sllbHt Ill u way i'i oA h'hi VI
two until the air began To melt up into little
fine pieces. which one could breathe with
ont the assistance of an eNpectorant. Ii
actually got quite spring-like. and such is
the finely-wrouglt senstiveneSS of my
nature that | knew | must relapse into
poetry or make garden. decided on the
garden. 1t was struggle to
renounce sonnet for young
onions and put aside dactylic and butyric
verse for asparagus. But did it.
Back of the house where live. there is
a little shaded spot where the gentle clothes
prop blooms and thrives. and the dish
water sink lifts its face To the evening
zephyrs for kiss. 1t was this spot | Sc
lected on which to erect my garden.
Ii was not large. but thought
that by tender care and cultivation,
could make il smile with radishes and
brighten with its neat rows of budding
Young sour kraut. had visions of early
| tomatoes and long cleaning cucumberS
| hanging on their bending stalks and only
waiting to be husked.
once when was little boy. Just arrived
at the dignity Of knee-deep pants and still
accumuiating the alphabet at school, |
spent the day with my aunt in the
country. She believed that all
work and no play makes Jack a
dull boy, but she saw the mischief had al
ready been permanently done in my case.
and she put me at work to earn my dinner.
First thing she did was to bring in large
painful of beans know they were beans,
for although l was from the city, had
lived. moved, and had my-well. the rest of
il. She said TO me: Here, bov. get around
lively. String them beans :" Then she
left Ele, for il was warm. mild weather, and
as she had some scrubbing to do she
| took il out under the trees. where she
could be cool. Now. mind, and string
them beans" she said, ''or you and NELL
miugle when git back
was an obedent boy and when she got
back had the beans nearly all strung.
would have finished the last one, but the
( darning- needle was using broke just be-
fore the pan was emptied and the cord gave
out Even as it was had a string of beans
| long enough TO reach across the lot 1t was
neatly done, for the string passed daintiiy
through the end of each bean. and entered
the next without saying word.
expected my aunt would pat me on the
head and say something. Part of this pro-
gramme was carried out. She did say
something and something else in addition,
but am not predjudiced in favor of the
rOlling-pin when il comes smoothing back
! the locks from ones flushed temples. When
the weather got darker towards evening.
my uncle deposited me in a buggy, brought
me home and had pa sign receipt for me.
| | merely cite this instance to show that
there was a time when my ideas of agri-
| culture were bounded on the north by abSo-
lutte idiOcy. But now il is different
guess my ideas are still farther north than
they We're then. This brings me back to
the plot of my stOry-the garden plot.
saw the first thing to do in order to have
a successful garden was to prepare the soil.
There's no use talking about conducting a
4 garden without more or less soil To it. Ny
garden was IA feet in length by IL in
width. Its depth is immaterial, and
| can't exactly give figures without looking
up the title in the recorders office. | hired
a man with two horses and plow to come
up and break up my ground. l have heard
of sulky plOwS. but he was the sulkiest
plowman ever | saw. | couldn't get a word
ont of him edgeways. and | suspected him
of soldering" for when he was way
at the other end of the garden. he seemed
to move more slowly than when down at tht
part by the chicken coop. OF course.
must allow for the deception of distance
but think he rested vigorously at the end
Of one furrow before picking up the
end of the next. If this meets hi,
eye, | hope he will recognize that an
largely onto him' and do not speak without
being sure of my ground-the SAINT. that h
plowed.
He was two days breaking up this small
oil nf ta,. a fNr =
horse. He charged me 81 30 for the job
and said it was dirt cheap. If had kncwI
at the time that the loathsome creature wa,
punnng, | should have slain him SO far a,
possible on the spot. even if the end of the
bushes.
He said to ME that ought to have it har
rowed if | wanted 10 raise things. | tol,
him that TO raise things had been NV actual
ing idea at the time that renounced journal
ism for agriculture. | hired him to 90 aheaC
and narrowly il, and the next morning wher
| came out to look at my farm he was drag
!, ging a large rusty, overgrown currycoml
over the bosom of the earth with the sam,
two overworked horses. He had hard worl
keeping this harrow from bursting tn,
boundaries of my garden and escaping int,
) large and had well grown teeth. and the ex
tent of my garden was limited to one octave
l grew interested in watching the patien
horses drag the harrow over the ground.
asked the man If he was searching for any
thing. He burst into a low. unslacke,
laugh. and the corners of his mouth slunl
away in the direction OF the back of hi
neck until his head was a peninsula. Hi
spinal column alone saved it from being al
island. | said his Steeds We're patien
hsrses. They looked As if they might b
the patients of some veterinary surgeon.
Il By the afternoon of that day the harrow
, ing spectacle was at all end. The man ha,
got my land down pretty fine. | spen
the rest of the day spading it up
Sometimes when | think of it now. | al
not altogether certain that this latter ac
was Necessary. But l proposed to do tn
square thing b; that garden. | spaded
up and sif.ed good deal of il through
flour sieve.
Next | turned my attention to planlin
the seed. l had a general idea that see
ought to be planted in the dark of tn
moon. but as there was no moon at tn
time. | had to fOregO that detail. \ Ion
stormy debate followed within me as /
what were the proper things plant. Fin
4 ally decided on raising little hay in on
bed, some seed potatoes in another, an
some onions, beets, lettuce, radsheS an
asparagus at intervals about the place.
parted, after severe struggle. with til
idea OF raising walnuts, and il took til
: Seed-dealer sometime to convince me tha
7 couldn't make the earth yield, chow -choy
! with proper care.
The day that / did the general plantin
. was little bit chilly in the vicinity of tn
D weather, but buttoned up my overcOat an
did the square thing by the seeds. too
. especial pains with the hay and didn't pu
down any but nice, sound stalks, which